Noticed I am not shivering

[Leftsider]

I just recently had my clusters return after a 20 year hiatus.  

One of the things that has helped me cope or even end an attack is cold. Cold compress , cold pack and cold weather. 

It's been especially cold where I am , -8 f . As i stood outside cooling down in my Pj's i noticed i wasn't shivering. I stood outside in below zero temps feeling my body temp drop and not a single shiver. 

I eventually started feeling the pain and numbness of the cold and went inside. 

So I think this may be a clue, possibly. 

Does anyone else have the same experience?

[jon019]

Hi Left....welcome....YES!

…..ya got yourself a wonky hypothalamus like the rest of us clusterheads.....and as if the cluster hits ain't enough it messes with body temp control too...and a buncha other stuff. tis a remarkable little powerhouse....

...have no explanation for why hot or cold  or alternation of each has such beneficial effect...but lotsa folks report same. mebbe partly a distraction and/or redirection or increase/decrease in specific areas of blood flow just enough to (somewhat) get the pressure off the trigeminal nerve (like strenuous exercise works for some)….or you're "tricking' the body.  myself, the hottest shower on my head I could stand helped...but couldn't handle ANY cold.... which was really too bad because I worked in a cold storage where a -20 degree  F cold room was available any time....

...just remembered someone recently posted re bare feet on a cold floor being helpful.....

Best

Jon

[FunTimes]

I sometimes need the cold to help kill off the pain and use ice packs on the cluster side of my head. Other times I am freezing cold and try to cover up to keep warm. I never know what one I will be dealing with and it all adds to the fun. I can melt a ice pack holding in the same spot on the side of my head and not feel the cold on my head or hand. I sometimes realize this when the pain is almost gone and still think it is kind of odd. I can not hold a ice cube in my hand in the same spot in my hand until it melts away to nothing when I do not have a cluster. 

[MoxieGirl]

Hi Leftsider,

Welcome to the forum, sorry you have to be here.

 

12 hours ago, Leftsider said:

....

It's been especially cold where I am , -8 f . As i stood outside cooling down in my Pj's i noticed i wasn't shivering. I stood outside in below zero temps feeling my body temp drop and not a single shiver. 

...

Re. above comment; clearly you're dead, and this is The Bad Place. I mean, it's obvious. Or you're a vampire. Was it night time? Does the sun burn your skin?

On, on a more series note, and to piggy back on Jon's comments. 

The hypothalamus does a whole list of things, and controls: body temp, thirst, appetite, weight control, emotions, sleep cycles, sex drive, ... and the list goes on. One of the big things it controls is the body clock, which is why they think clusters are so closely associated with it, or triggered by it, as they happen, well, like clockwork. 

Before I started busting, after every cluster attack I would have massive swings in body temp that would last 20-30 minutes. One moment I'd be freezing, and wrapping up in my bath robe and blankets, and a moment later, I'd be boiling. Back and forth it would go, over and over. 

So if you'd gone outside right after having an attack, your body might have cracked up your body temp as a result of the cluster, and thus didn't feel the cold, as such.

And regarding why hot or cold sensations can sometime elevate attacks, the reason I think this is, is because the body can really only process one source of pain, or strong sensations, at a time. I used to inflict a different sort of pain on myself, a pain I could control, during an attack in order to distract my mind and decrease the pain of the cluster. Stepping into cold snow would certainly trick the brain!

These are just my thoughts and experiences mind you, I'm not an expert. 

Here's an interesting experiment you can do regarding tricking the brain. 

This works best outside or in a large room, but that isn't critical. Sit quietly for a minute and pick a spot directly in front of you to look at, and no matter what, keep your eyes on that spot. Do not move them, or your head. Now, make yourself aware of an object as far to your right as you can perceive. It's great if something over there is moving to catch your attention, but just try and see as far right as you can WITHOUT moving your eyes - keep them looking forward on that spot.

Now, do the same to the left. What can you see without moving your eyes?

Next, do the same upward, then after a moment do it downward - all without moving your eyes. 

Now, the real trick, take in everything as far to your right, as far to your left, as far above you and below you as you can, all while your eyes are looking straight forward at that spot. 

Several things will happen.

1. You should be pretty amazed at how much you can actually perceive without having to look at it. This is a great technique to use when walking in a crowd, or even driving. This is how Black Belts in martial arts are able to fight several people at once.

2. You should find yourself relax as you focus on the things around you.

3. You may notice your emotions just switch off. And this is the point I am getting too.

Your brain only has the bandwidth to process a certain amount of information at any given time. You can process sights, sounds, emotions, smells and touch (among other things). But if any one of those becomes overwhelmed, then something has to give, and be shut off. When you are looking at things with your eyes, you're not actually seeing everything that is there. There is billions of pixels of information in front of you, but we humans use selective vision, and we only see what is important to us. By doing this little trick, you bypass that selective vision and force your brain to process more visual information than normal. In order to make room for all this information, it has to shut something off, and it shuts off emotions. 

I gave my best friend's eulogy last month using this trick, and didn't cry through it at all. 

The same applies for pain. Your brain can only process one source of pain at a time. Introduce a new source, a new sensation, and they brain jumps to that. 

That said, clusters are so very intense, it's not easy as the pain tends to overwhelm everything. 

MG